Our Firm Heritage of Success

For well over a century, the Guggenheim name has been synonymous with a spirit of innovation and a track record of results. Delivering innovative solutions to the complex challenges facing clients is a hallmark of Guggenheim’s legacy of success.

Our history stems from Guggenheim Brothers, the Guggenheim family business dating back to the late 1800s.

Guggenheim Partners began with the mission of creating exceptional value for our clients by applying the principles that made the Guggenheim family one of the most successful innovators, investors, and business managers in American history.

Those principles entailed engaging highly talented people, challenging them to think creatively, and encouraging them to achieve extraordinarily high standards in their fields of expertise.

Today, we continue to uphold the principles of the Guggenheim family by promoting a firm culture that values initiative, encourages ideas, and rewards success.

Family Milestones

1881

Meyer Guggenheim paid $5,000 for a one-third interest in two Colorado lead and silver mines. By the end of World War I, the family business controlled more than 80% of the world’s supply of silver, copper and lead.

1916

Meyer Guggenheim’s sons reorganized into Guggenheim Brothers.

1929

Daniel Guggenheim embraced a vision of going where no man had gone before and, on the recommendation of Charles Lindbergh, bankrolled Robert Goddard’s obscure research on rockets. Goddard’s work eventually led to the development of modern rocketry.

1941

Solomon Guggenheim engaged the respected architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a unique contemporary art museum to display his vast personal collection of non-objective art. The partnering of these two visionaries resulted in one of the most famous and recognizable structures in the world, itself a work of non-objective art.

1953

Harry Guggenheim adhered to the family formula by enlisting the services of the most preeminent horse trainers of the time to successfully achieve his goal of winning the Kentucky Derby with a horse named Dark Star.

1997

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation together with the Basque government engaged the renowned architect Frank Gehry and challenged him to design a new Guggenheim Museum that would be so innovative and spectacular that it would transform Bilbao, Spain from a struggling city into a vibrant cultural destination.